Brian Dunning
@briandunning.bsky.social
I make movies & podcasts & books & stuff. apple.co/3VlpfOv theufo.movie
The Galileo Gambit is even stupider than you thought it was. Today on my Substack: open.substack.com/pub/briandun...
The Galileo Gambit: An exercise in stupidity
This popular fallacious argument is used by wooists every day, apparently unaware that by now it's a very old joke.
open.substack.com
February 12, 2026 at 11:12 PM
The Galileo Gambit is even stupider than you thought it was. Today on my Substack: open.substack.com/pub/briandun...
Kind of a super-cool episode this week, about some super-hot things: Are there really hundreds of radioactive generators sitting out in the open around the world, making people sick? It's this week's Skeptoid: skep.us/1027
Radioactive Relics: The Missing RTGs - Skeptoid
Radioactive nuclear generators sit out in the environment, posing a real hazard. They're mostly — but not all — in Russia.
skep.us
February 11, 2026 at 5:07 PM
Kind of a super-cool episode this week, about some super-hot things: Are there really hundreds of radioactive generators sitting out in the open around the world, making people sick? It's this week's Skeptoid: skep.us/1027
Some populists online are reviving the old trope that the IRS is illegal and paying federal taxes was never actually required by law — so if you don't want to pay them, you don't have to. (Try it, and let's see how that works out for you.) I evaluate this claim in today's Substack:
Are federal incomes taxes voluntary?
Tax misinformation is enjoying a fresh resurgence — and people are winning free tickets to vacation at Club Fed as a result.
open.substack.com
February 9, 2026 at 11:00 PM
Some populists online are reviving the old trope that the IRS is illegal and paying federal taxes was never actually required by law — so if you don't want to pay them, you don't have to. (Try it, and let's see how that works out for you.) I evaluate this claim in today's Substack:
Beware of fake weight loss drugs that try to trick you with the term "GLP-1". Today on my Substack:
Science-inspired weight loss, without the science
Once GLP-1 drugs became real, the knockoffs came faster than you could blink.
open.substack.com
February 5, 2026 at 9:45 PM
Beware of fake weight loss drugs that try to trick you with the term "GLP-1". Today on my Substack:
Only two weeks until the USA vs Canada women's hockey gold medal final.
February 5, 2026 at 3:21 PM
Only two weeks until the USA vs Canada women's hockey gold medal final.
So that heirloom china you bring out on the holidays... Is it merely haunted, or might it also be poisonous to eat from? We find out in this week's Skeptoid: skeptoid.com/episodes/1026
Vintage Ceramics: Decorative or Deadly? - Skeptoid
How concerned do you truly need to be about vintage ceramicware leaching lead into your food?
skeptoid.com
February 4, 2026 at 4:57 PM
So that heirloom china you bring out on the holidays... Is it merely haunted, or might it also be poisonous to eat from? We find out in this week's Skeptoid: skeptoid.com/episodes/1026
More than meets the eye is going on in the upcoming Artemis II flight around the Moon. Here's the stuff you didn't know:
Artemis II Moon mission: Why you should pay more attention than ever
It's been heavily criticized — but there are still some pretty amazing things coming out of it.
open.substack.com
February 2, 2026 at 9:35 PM
More than meets the eye is going on in the upcoming Artemis II flight around the Moon. Here's the stuff you didn't know:
Listen to me get speared and drained as I donate blood live on the Bloodworks 101 podcast: blog.bloodworksnw.org/podcast/
Bloodworks 101 Podcast - Bloodworks Northwest Blog
Check out our podcast: Bloodworks 101! Host John Yeager and guest storytellers inspire and educate you to give time, money, or blood.
blog.bloodworksnw.org
January 30, 2026 at 11:43 PM
Listen to me get speared and drained as I donate blood live on the Bloodworks 101 podcast: blog.bloodworksnw.org/podcast/
Some lessons learned while swimming in the soup of online dating, and some quick tips to protect yourself. Today on my Substack:
Cautionary Tales from the Front Lines of Online Dating
From the bullshit-free zone come some cases of real bullshit that happens in the very real world of online dating.
open.substack.com
January 29, 2026 at 10:44 PM
Some lessons learned while swimming in the soup of online dating, and some quick tips to protect yourself. Today on my Substack:
This week on Skeptoid: It's another pop quiz! Gotcha! Test your knowledge of science vs pseudoscience questions pertaining to OUTER SPACE! skeptoid.com/episodes/1025
January 28, 2026 at 9:52 PM
This week on Skeptoid: It's another pop quiz! Gotcha! Test your knowledge of science vs pseudoscience questions pertaining to OUTER SPACE! skeptoid.com/episodes/1025
I spent the night with a ghost, and I'd do it again. Today on my Substack:
I spent the Night with a Ghost
And I'd do it again.
open.substack.com
January 26, 2026 at 8:47 PM
I spent the night with a ghost, and I'd do it again. Today on my Substack:
I usually take my evening walk to get the mail — a short jaunt, about ¾ mile round trip, but quite pleasant in the snow at a late hour. Recently I've been bringing my thermal camera. I came across this little herd of deer. In the second picture, that horse in the distance is just about ⅓ mile away.
January 24, 2026 at 7:16 AM
I usually take my evening walk to get the mail — a short jaunt, about ¾ mile round trip, but quite pleasant in the snow at a late hour. Recently I've been bringing my thermal camera. I came across this little herd of deer. In the second picture, that horse in the distance is just about ⅓ mile away.
No BS in Brian's BS-free Zone today: an unknown triangular jet aircraft was just photographed in the skies above Area 51. Here's what it probably is:
Breaking: Triangular craft spotted at Area 51
A triangular aircraft has just been captured on video flying over Area 51.
open.substack.com
January 23, 2026 at 4:43 PM
No BS in Brian's BS-free Zone today: an unknown triangular jet aircraft was just photographed in the skies above Area 51. Here's what it probably is:
Today, a very special Skeptoid from guest host Blake Smith. The story of a story, the Van Meter Visitors: skep.us/1024
January 21, 2026 at 6:21 PM
Today, a very special Skeptoid from guest host Blake Smith. The story of a story, the Van Meter Visitors: skep.us/1024
Today on my Substack (free): Chiropractic schools are legitimately accredited, but the practice is still rejected as woo by the medical profession — and often as dangerous woo! (4 minute read)
Friends don't let friends become chiropractors
And especially not if they work on babies.
open.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 8:03 PM
Today on my Substack (free): Chiropractic schools are legitimately accredited, but the practice is still rejected as woo by the medical profession — and often as dangerous woo! (4 minute read)
Neat: Dr. Martin Luther King is still well remembered in Hiroshima: www.atlasobscura.com/articles/mlk...
Why MLK Day Is a Big Deal in Hiroshima
Martin Luther King Jr. was also outspoken against nuclear weapons.
www.atlasobscura.com
January 19, 2026 at 5:51 PM
Neat: Dr. Martin Luther King is still well remembered in Hiroshima: www.atlasobscura.com/articles/mlk...
Received as a birthday present. Reminds me I need to get started gilding my office.
January 19, 2026 at 6:01 AM
Received as a birthday present. Reminds me I need to get started gilding my office.
Beware of news reports claiming the US forces used mysterious "sonic weapons" to disable security forces in the raid on Maduro. We can be quite sure this is Internet fiction. Today on my Substack:
No, US forces didn't use "sonic weapons" in Maduro raid
These magical science fiction weapons didn't exist in Cuba in 2016, and still don't exist today.
open.substack.com
January 15, 2026 at 7:19 PM
Beware of news reports claiming the US forces used mysterious "sonic weapons" to disable security forces in the raid on Maduro. We can be quite sure this is Internet fiction. Today on my Substack:
A few weeks ago I did a show breaking down all the possible ways that ghosts might exist — and finding no room for them to be real. So what are people really experiencing when they believe they have a ghost encounter? My answers to that are in this week's Skeptoid Podcast: skeptoid.com/episodes/1023
January 15, 2026 at 1:02 AM
A few weeks ago I did a show breaking down all the possible ways that ghosts might exist — and finding no room for them to be real. So what are people really experiencing when they believe they have a ghost encounter? My answers to that are in this week's Skeptoid Podcast: skeptoid.com/episodes/1023
Terrorism futures markets — essentially banned for being immoral — are worth another look. Today on my Substack:
Why Terrorism Futures Markets Work
A huge win by a gambler on Polymarket shows how this model can accurately predict all kinds of different events — and how intelligence agencies can live or die by it.
open.substack.com
January 12, 2026 at 3:05 PM
Terrorism futures markets — essentially banned for being immoral — are worth another look. Today on my Substack:
The latest grift peddled by the worst surgeon general any US state has ever been saddled with, today on my Substack:
Florida Man Sniffs Paint, Issues Advice as Surgeon General
Florida's surgeon general Joseph Ladapo's latest recommendations are pure grift and snake oil scam products.
open.substack.com
January 8, 2026 at 9:01 PM
The latest grift peddled by the worst surgeon general any US state has ever been saddled with, today on my Substack:
A lot of what you know about donating blood is wrong: skeptoid.com/episodes/1022
Blood Donation Myths - Skeptoid
The myths and misconceptions surrounding blood donation and why you might consider donating.
skeptoid.com
January 7, 2026 at 7:39 PM
A lot of what you know about donating blood is wrong: skeptoid.com/episodes/1022
Men will commit atrocities as long as they believe absurdities.
- Martin Gardner, paraphrasing Voltaire
- Martin Gardner, paraphrasing Voltaire
January 5, 2026 at 3:06 AM
Men will commit atrocities as long as they believe absurdities.
- Martin Gardner, paraphrasing Voltaire
- Martin Gardner, paraphrasing Voltaire
A satisfied alumnus has just posted a fine video review of my esteemed online learning institution Thunderwood College (get your degree in just minutes!). Enjoy: youtu.be/CCSGnfafuyk
This VTuber has a PhD?!
YouTube video by Kawaori
youtu.be
January 4, 2026 at 5:49 PM
A satisfied alumnus has just posted a fine video review of my esteemed online learning institution Thunderwood College (get your degree in just minutes!). Enjoy: youtu.be/CCSGnfafuyk
Here is trending archaeologist Flint Dibble revealing what we're going to see on the Skeptoid Adventure aboard the world's largest sailing ship in the Mediterranean this April. Cabins are still available! skeptoid.com/events/30315
January 2, 2026 at 9:36 PM
Here is trending archaeologist Flint Dibble revealing what we're going to see on the Skeptoid Adventure aboard the world's largest sailing ship in the Mediterranean this April. Cabins are still available! skeptoid.com/events/30315